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Donald Trump Thinks Going To Mars Would Be "Wonderful" But There Is a Catch

MarkWhittington writes: Donald Trump, the mercurial real estate tycoon and media personality who, much to the surprise of one and all, has become the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president opened his mind just a little about his attitude toward space exploration, according to a story in Forbes. In an answer to a question put to him about sending humans to Mars, the current focus at NASA, Trump said, "Honestly, I think it's wonderful; I want to rebuild our infrastructure first, ok? I think it's wonderful." In other words, dreams of going to Mars must take a back seat to more Earthly concerns. It is not an answer many space exploration supporters want to hear.

7 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. Trump makes sense again? by Jack9 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > In other words, dreams of going to Mars must take a back seat to more Earthly concerns. It is not an answer many space exploration supporters want to hear.

    That sounds perfectly sane. Sending people to Mars now, is a waste of resources. We send probes, probes tell us basically what we already know (its slightly less inhospitable than say...Venus) and we learn some new details about the inhospitable conditions. Artificial Intelligence or Genetically Engineered creatures to send to Mars is a much more efficient approach. Let's get that working on Earth, first and we can talk about the myriad of inhospitable places that open up. That's very long term thinking, which is part of what space exploration is about. I don't think Trump supposes to know anything about long term technological viability. He just happens to be on the right side of this.

    --

    Often wrong but never in doubt.
    I am Jack9.
    Everyone knows me.
  2. Re:He's got company by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unfortunately for the martians, yankee illegals are notoriously hard to keep out. Ask the Cherokee how that worked out for them...

  3. Re:False dichotomy by jo_ham · · Score: 4, Insightful

    space exploration returns next to nothing, its basic economics

    Only if you assign a zero value to scientific and engineering knowledge.

    But that's day one in MBA school I think.

  4. Re: He's got company by dcollins117 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Trump is also the most likely of the candidates to start World War III. Big ego, a propensity for insulting others, and access to nukes is probably not a good combination to have in a leader. Just look to North Korea to see the possibilities.

  5. Re:Oh dear by fustakrakich · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Honestly, the biggest problem is financial cost.

    There's plenty of cash hogtied up in the derivatives markets. And there is over 4.5 trillion in "excess reserves". Personally, I'd rather see it used for California desalination plants, but whatever. Like the water itself, the money is just not where we need it. It is being used to fix the toilet on somebody's yacht.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  6. Re:Oh dear by nobodyknowsimageek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You are entirely neglecting the fact that the reason the toxins are there is from mining by a private corporation that never cleaned up its mess. But EPA bad, corporation good, right?

    Moron

  7. Re: He's got company by SirSlud · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > track record of getting shit done and speaks his mind

    Is good at going bankrupt and says incredibly stupid shit that no emotionally functional person would say? Americans are a fascinating species.

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"